Job Description

PRINCIPAL DUTIES & AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY Act as the designated lead and coordinator for bereaved families following peripartum loss. Work in partnership with bereaved families to provide responsive emotional care and support, acknowledging the impact and psychological distress of perinatal loss on the family unit. Work collaboratively with all members of the multidisciplinary team and other key personnel in primary and secondary care to provide a seamless supportive package of care tailored to the bereaved families individual needs. Monitor psychological wellbeing and liaise closely with the Perinatal Mental Health services to ensure timely referral and intervention where indicated.



Provide practical advice and support to bereaved families regarding the registration of death, funeral arrangements and financial support as indicated. Ensure bereaved families are aware of external support systems available and facilitate signposting and access as required. Support bereaved families during follow up appointments by advocating for them as required and subsequently reinforcing information and explanations given. Provide individualised support for bereaved families in subsequent pregnancies through the specialist clinic.



Responsible for the safe use of a range of equipment in the course of their duties which they personally use. Actively participate in supporting team members and student midwives by sharing knowledge, skills and expertise in bereavement care. Plan, deliver and evaluate educational packages for the multidisciplinary team to ensure the delivery of evidence based high quality bereavement care. Evaluate service user feedback and disseminate trends and themes through shared learning platforms.



Network with other bereavement midwives across the region and nationally as appropriate to share best practice and learning. Maintain professional development to enable the development, delivery and evaluation of outstanding evidence based bereavement care. Escalate any factors which are impeding the delivery of a high quality service to the senior management team. Work closely with the nurse specialist for post mortem consent and undertake consent for post mortem as required.



Liaise with the Trust Human Tissue Authority team to ensure compliance in the maternity services is in line with local and national requirements. Act as the designated lead contact for the maternal, newborn and infant clinical outcome review programme (MBRRACE-UK) submitting trust data as required and developing specialised programmes of care from this. Benchmark service delivery against the National Bereavement Pathways, identify gaps and develop strategies for quality improvement. Review and develop guidelines for bereavement care and align these to local and national standards.



Develop formal reports based on the findings of national regional and local data where the service may have changed and advising others of the changes where this affects the wider service provided by the Trust and local teams and benchmark local service delivery against regional and national recommendations. Review and develop information packages for service users. Deliver reports making recommendations for practice and quality improvements at CSU governance forums. Regularly undertakes work audits and participates in research activity which includes participating in clinical audits and making recommendations for practice.



Critically analyse data from local, regional and national reports including MBRRACE. Contribute to the multidisciplinary perinatal mortality reviews and the dissemination of learning and feedback following review. Maintain a database of all bereaved families who have experienced perinatal loss in the maternity services and where possible compare and analyse this information and data for a range of options including reports for specific programmes/audits and research. Work with the senior management team to develop innovative and collaborative approaches to implementing the national maternity strategy in relation to bereavement services i.e.



continuity of care in subsequent pregnancy. Work in partnership with third sector organisations to facilitate a system wide approach to bereavement care. Liaise with the local Maternity Voices Partnership (MVP) and service user representatives from the Perinatal Bereavement Steering group to co-produce resources and consult on proposed service changes. Please see attached job description for full details.